1. WINNING BUSINESS ONLINE
Rachel Fletcher
FCS Associates Ltd
15th June 2012

2. FCS ASSOCIATES LTD
•Specialist Bid Writing, Funding
and Strategic Business Planning
Consultancy
Key Services:
• Bid Writing: For public sector
tenders, grants and charity funding
• Enterprise Coaching: Business
planning, funding reviews
procurement support.
• FCS Tracker: Personalised weekly
funding e-bulletin
• Bid Writing Workshops:
Interactive, tailored workshops to
support tender development.

3. FCS TRACKER
Personalised contract and
grant e-bulletin
Weekly service
Unique and robust
Telephone support to
navigate websites and portals
Reviews over 250 sources
Constantly expanding
database of opportunities
Can be instantly updated to
look at new contract areas

4. KEY THEMES OF TODAY’S
PRESENTATION

5. Introduction to
E-Procurement

6. CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES
Weak national economy
Increasing global competition
Difficulty of managing late payments/non-payments
However:
New Business Opportunity: £236b is spent each year by the
public sector, increasingly using e-procurement
Local government ~£40 billion every year on goods and
services 50% supplied by SMEs/micro businesses

7. WHAT IS E-PROCUREMENT
Use of electronic methods in every stage of the
purchasing process
Advertising contracts
Managing contracts
Evaluating tenders
Paying suppliers
Dynamic purchasing systems
Benefits
Reduce paperwork
Improve efficiency
Help you process orders more quickly
Speed up payment

8. IS IT REALLY COMPLICATED?
Yes and No
Protecting taxpayers money
Processes have to be:
Transparent
Fair for All
Value for Money
Longer decision making, policies/accreditations needed
But public sector are:
Good payers
Stable organisations
Buy a vast range of products and services
Rock salt to business support – everything in between

9. POTENTIAL PUBLIC SECTOR
CUSTOMERS
Central government departments and agencies
Devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland
Local Authorities
National Health Service
Police service
Armed forces
Universities
Colleges
Prisons
Could also be a sub-contractor for high -value
contracts won by other, larger businesses.

11. TYPES OF PROCUREMENT
PROCEDURES
Open
ITT sent to all.
Restricted
Two-stage process, PQQ followed by an ITT to short
listed suppliers
Competitive Dialogue
Used for complex procurements whereby authority
negotiates with companies to develop suitable
solution.
Negotiated
Only used in limited circumstances to allow contract
negotiations with one or more suppliers.
Framework Agreement
Used as a call-off basis. Mini-competition may be
held to identify the best supplier. A contract is only
formed when an order is placed for a specific
requirement.

12. Finding Opportunities
and Being Found

13. E-MARKETPLACE: FINDING
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Free websites
Contracts Finder (replaced supply to gov)
Public Tenders.net
2. Free On-Line Portals:
SCSM
The Chest
Source Derbyshire
3. Purchasing Consortium Portals: (Fee is Payable)
Crescent Purchasing Consortium
4. Opportunities Websites (Fee is Payable)
Tenders Direct, QSL Ltd etc

14. Recommended FREE Websites
Organisation Specific Sites:
– Emergency Services: https://www.bluelight.gov.uk/portal/cms.nsf/vHomePage/fSection?OpenDocument
– CompeteFor: https://www.competefor.com/business/opportunitySearchForm.html
– MOD contract: http://www.contracts.mod.uk/introduction/index.shtml
National / Regional Portals
National: http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk
Yorkshire Councils: http://scms.alito.co.uk/
Enterprising Barnsley: http://www.enterprisingbarnsley.co.uk/
North Eastern Purchasing Organisation NEPO: https://www.qtegov.com/procontract
Public Tenders.net: www.publictenders.net
Source Derbyshire: http://www.sourcederbyshire.co.uk
North West : https://www.thechest.nwce.gov.uk/cms/cms.nsf
Wales E-tendering: https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml
European:
TED/OJEU – Tenders Electronic Daily: http://ted.europa.eu/TED/browse/browseByBO.do

18. REGISTRATION: PROCUREMENT WEB
PORTALS
Have to register if you visit for the first time
Cannot respond if you are not registered
Can receive e-bulletins of opportunities
2 Types:
Simple: e-mail, company details and password
Complex: (To provide Buyers with information)
Company Information
Service description, case studies and referees
Financial data
Insurance certificates
Questionnaires required completion for specific
services
On-line tutorial available to help you
Can update at anytime

21. RSS Feeds or 'Really Simple Syndication'
Allows you to stay updated and save time by retrieving the latest
content from the sites you are interested in.

22. PROACTIVE OPPORTUNITY
SEARCHING
•Many public sector organisations have a list of current
contracts on their website
•E.g. BMBCContract Register
•Details of current contracts, size and who delivers it
•Contact name to find out more
CONTRACT EXTENSION TOTAL OR
TITLE DESCRIPTION START DATE END DATE PERIOD AMOUNT ANNUAL SUPPLIER CONTACT COMMENT
Day Day care in a John
opportunities residential setting 01/04/2008 30/09/2011 175634.00 Annual Age Concern Harding Under review
Insurance Programme of
Programme Insurance Covers 01/10/2008 30/09/2011 2 years 1140000.00 Annual Travelers/Zurich/AXA Neil Darlow
•http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/services/business/tenders-and-
contracts/procurement-contracts-lists/

23. DO’S AND DON’TS: IDENTIFYING
OPPORTUNITIES
Know whose responsibility it is to identify opportunities
Ensure a process is in place for holidays / sickness
Do organise your approach
Weekly/monthly website checks
Know which bulletins you receive information from
Have a centralised information system for
weblinks/logins/passwords
Do thoroughly read opportunities
Don’t dismiss opportunities based on the title
Always read the specification if you think it might
be relevant

24. Are You Tender Ready?

25. Are You Tender Ready?
What does being Tender Ready mean?
Having all the information you need at short notice
to apply for tenders and grants

26. TENDER READY REQUIREMENTS

27. Responding to an
Opportunity

28. PROCUREMENT PROCESS: 9 STEPS

29. Assessment of Opportunities
How do you know if you should pursue a contract
opportunity? Do a SWOT Analysis
No right or wrong answer, a question of best using
resources available
Key Issues this consider:
How much input is needed?
Does it fit with company’s long term growth strategy
Cash flow implications
Timescales realistic for delivery?
Do you know the organisation?
Realistic deadline?
Known competitors?

30. SUBMITTING EOI’S AND PQQ’S
Expression of Interest (EOI)
E-mail to request a PQQ or ITT
May need to be registered on relevant portal to submit an EOI
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)
Vetting process
PQQ – ongoing or specific to individual tenders
Generic business related information e.g. organisational
structure / financial credibility
Can be online or paper based
Will have deadlines for submission – must be completed or
will not be invited to tender
Assesses the competencies of organisation in areas of quality,
equality and diversity, health and safety, financial health of
provider

31. EXAMPLE PQQ:
PLEASE COMPLETE ONLY REQUIRED SECTIONS &
QUESTIONS
Not all sections of this questionnaire are required to be
completed, please complete those sections as indicated in the
column opposite.
G – General Background Information
F – Financial CONTRACT TITLE
H – Health & Safety
Provision of Training Consultancy
Q – Quality Assurance Services for the University of
D – Diversity & Equality General Birmingham’s People and Organisational
DH – Diversity & Equality High Relevance Development Department
C – Corporate Responsibility
E – Environmental
W – WEEE Directive
R – RoSH Directive
V – Verification

32. PQQ - SKILLS ENHANCEMENT FUND

33. SUBMITTING THE PQQ
Usually submitted on-line
Don't do at last minute: Frequent overload
Check all your responses carefully
Ensure that you’ve included all the necessary
documentation
Sign and date the Declaration section of the form –
one of the most common reasons for a PQQ to be
non-compliant is that it is not signed, or not signed
by a senior manager or executive
Ensure that the awarding authority receives your
PQQ on time – late arrivals will be rejected.

34. INVITED TO SUBMIT AN ITT: 6 KEY
DOCUMENTS

35. Bid Development Process
Tender Ready Evaluation
Bid Formulation
Bid Writing Implementation
Submission
Presentation
Feedback FAILURE SUCCESS

36. THE DO’S AND DON’TS: BID
DEVELOPMENT
Before you start writing
READ ALL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Ascertain if you require clarification on certain points
Attend Briefing Events (where organised)
Take into account the evaluation criteria
Start as soon as possible
Determine your tender-writing strategy
• Identify the bid development team
• Include input from across the organisation to add
value and innovation
Don’t put pen to paper until you have created an outline
plan

37. THE BID FORMULATION -
SUMMARY
What: Aims and objectives. Needs to be clear and
measurable. SMART
Why: The strategic link. What is the evidence of
need for the project? PEST
Who: Staff qualifications and specialist expertise.
Organisation charts, CV’s
How: Project Methodology. How the
service/product be delivered,

38. BID EVALUATION
Must have a clear understanding before you put your
bid together
Bid scoring varies widely
Sometime only certain questions are scored
Threshold questions (pass/fail): e.g. financials, insurances,
accreditations
Question Weighting: Areas depend upon client’s view of the
importance specific aspect.
Lowest Price or MEAT (most frequent)
Most Economically Advantageous Tender
Assess how you propose to deliver the contract (quality)
as well as the cost of the contract (price). To win the
contract, your tender will need to demonstrate the best
balance of quality and price – not just the lowest price.

39. STEP 4
Do’s and Don’ts of Bid
Writing

40. BID WRITING - KEY TIPS
Read the question, then read it again
Highlight key sentences: italics – bold
Use ITT as a questionnaire
Make use of the Q&A facilities
Set clear objectives and reiterate them throughout the bid
Use clients language
Proof read and ensure a consistent writing style
Use bespoke diagrams to emphasise and support your
argument
Double check finance tables
Check references
Check submission process

41. DON’TS: BID WRITING
Leave questions unanswered
Switch reader off:
Small font
Tight line spacing
Poor spelling
Confused numbering / bullets
Do not assume anything
Good bid on paper: but undeliverable
Timescale
Costs
Deliverables and outputs
Leave until last minute

42. DO: BID WRITING
Develop a working document to be worked into a draft
bid
Prioritise bid writing activity
Homeworking/quiet space
Formulate bid writing action plan:
Establish bid writing individual/team
Agree realistic deadlines
Use colleagues– the biggest resource!
Restrict comment
Request specific Input
‘Critical Friend’
Have sufficient time

43. IN THE FUTURE: E-AUCTIONS
E-Auctions: Electronic Reverse Auction
An eAuction is a means in which pre-qualified suppliers
can bid electronically for a contract.
Suppliers bid progressively lower during the auctions
period.
May be used in conjunction with open or restricted
procedures
Most have a pre–qualification stage, to ensure
other important evaluation criteria are taken into
account as well as cost,
Currently, relatively rare, used for commodity–type
products

44. SUMMARY
E-procurement is a huge business opportunity
Not as complex as it first appears
Direction of travel
Lots of on-line help:
Tutorials
E-bulletins
RSS feeds
Need to invest time to understand processes and
opportunities
Being organised helps!